East Sussex Business Owners Have Received £10m Start Up Loans Funding
Hastings leads the entrepreneurial activity in East Sussex.
Image Photo by micheile henderson on Unsplash
Entrepreneurs in East Sussex have received more than £10million in funding from the British Business Bank’s Start Up Loans programme which provides government-backed personal loans and mentoring to new businesses. The latest figures show that more than 1,000 Start Up Loans have supported local people to start or grow a business in East Sussex.
More than four in ten (41%) Start Up Loans have been delivered to female business owners, well above other comparable sources of finance. 22% of the finance for 18-24 years olds went to those not in education, employment or training (NEET).
By location, the highest number of loans have gone to residents in Hastings (295), followed by Wealden (244) and Lewes (190), with the total value of loans to date standing at £2.54million, £2.65million, and £1.8million respectively.
Adjusted for population size, Hastings stands out as the most entrepreneurial area in East Sussex with 32 loans per 10,000 residents. Rother and Lewes were second and third respectively, both with 19 loans per 10,000 residents.
Louise McCoy, Managing Director, Start Up Loans Products at the British Business Bank, said: “We are delighted that Start Up Loans has supported more than 1,000 East Sussex business owners, and the figure continues to rise. We provide much more than just loans, including helping business owners with mentoring and other types of support as well.
“We recently expanded our eligibility criteria so businesses up to five years old can now apply for a Start Up Loan, and we’re looking forward to helping even more people across East Sussex set up or grow a business.”
Storage Bros is an independent self-storage business based in Newhaven, providing clean, secure and flexible storage for local households, trades and businesses. It’s two directors each took out a £25,000 Start Up Loan to support an expansion in operations.
Jamie O’Mara, Director of Storage Bros, commented: “The finance really helped us move forward with more confidence. More than just the funding itself, it gave us real momentum and validation that we were building something with strong potential.
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE: How Startups Can Thrive in Competitive Markets
“It allowed us to invest further into the business, improve our facilities and keep growing the Storage Bros brand locally. Having that backing at an important stage helped us push on, make decisions quicker and continue building a business that customers trust.
“The impact has been really positive. Since then, we have grown our customer base, increased our storage offering and created more opportunities around the business, including container sales, industry content and supporting others who are looking to get into self-storage.”
The British Business Bank is expanding its support for entrepreneurs in every corner of the UK with further commitments of £2.6billion of capital. £350million has already been allocated to two new Nations and Regions Investment Funds in the East of England and the South East, which are due to launch in September 2026. This will mean targeted finance is available in every UK Nation and region outside London.
• Find out more at startuploans.co.uk
#BusinessStartups #BuisnessLoans #IndexDigital
